About the time that N got very sick, my old dog was teetering on the edge (and died not long after).

I thought at the time about leaving N, that sick old man, but I couldn't do it. If I wouldn't abandon a sick dog, I wasn't about to divorce a very ill handicapped old man.

It has nothing to do with who owes what to whom and everything to do with my own ethical standards.

It's wrong to kick someone when they're down. It's wrong to hurt someone when small generosities on your part can soothe their pain.

His one great fear has always been that I will abandon him, the way his first two wives did. The very least I can do is continue as we are, and be friendly towards him, bring him little gifts and have compassion for his disability.

It's true that he now lies in the bed he made (karma), but I see no reason to take any form of revenge nor to abandon him. He needs his dreams, his fantasies; that's all he has left. So long as he does me no serious harm, I will continue to be in his life.

Does that answer your question? I wouldn't abandon a sick old dog; and I won't abandon a sick old man.